SUPPRESSED MEMOIRS OF KUROPATKIN

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 278, 18 November 1908, Page 3

SUPPRESSED MEMOIRS OF KUROPATKIN

'Mucli that lias hitherto been mysterious with regard to the origin of tliv I Kus.so-JaiiaiK'.'je war is made plain hy 1 the Jirst publication, in the September number of HcClure's Magazine, of the memoirs of General Kuropatkui, who, from his position as .Russian Minisier of War and Commander-in-Uhief. had command of sources of information which were inaccessible to the general 1 public. To high circles in liussia, so unpalatable was the tvulh with vegavd to the events leading up to the war that the [mliliiatiuu of (leueval Kuropalkin's memoirs was -suppressed' by the Government.

' These memoir- are rontained in unit" bulky volumes, the first tlirco (says -Mr. liuorgc Kcnnan, the translator) being devoted mainly to a detailed dc->ei'ii>tioii and analysis of tin; three great battles of Liao-yang, Slia-ho, and -Uukden. it is with the fourth, entitled, " Summing up the War," that the interest fur the general render commences, dealing as il does with the policy wliieh led up to the rupture with .la'pan, and caused so serious a blow to be struck at the

military prestige of Kussia. This policy, it is now shown, took iis root not in any sentiment of patriotic u or any desire to guard Kussia from tiie " yellow peril." but in the baser motives ol personal gain and private aggrandiv.'-

meat, and the story would be almo.l incredible from any lesser authority than (icneral Kuropatkin. In 18118 (says Mr. tieorgc Kennan) a Vladivostok' merchant named Brincr obtained from the Korean government upon extremely favourable terms a concession for a timber company tlwt should have authority to exploit the great forest wealth of the upper Yalu lliver. As liriner was a promoter and speculator who had little means and less inllueur.'.

he was unable to organise his company, and in 11)02 he sold his concession to Alexander Alikhailovitch Bezobrazoll', another Russian promoter and speculator, who liad held the rank of State Councillor in the Czar's Civil Service, and who was high in the favour 01 some of the (iraml Dukes in St. Petersburg. Bezobrazoll', "who seems to have been a most lluent and persuasive talker, as well as a man of tine personal presence and bearing, soon interested his Grand Ducal friends in the fabulous wealth of the Far East generally, and in the extraordinary value of the Korean con-

cession especially. He received financial support for his project, and was presented -to the Czar, upon whom he made a very favourable impression. His influence at Court grew day bv day, an-1 his acts finally dragged liussia against her will into Avar with Japan. Under terms of the liusso-Chinese treaty of March 211 th, 11)02, Russian troops were to be removed from -Manchuria within a year, and preparations to this end

were accordingly begun. Says Ueneral Kuropatkin;— ''Barracks for the soldiers to be withdrawn were hastily erected between Blagovescheiisk and Vladivostok, in the Pri-Amur country; plans of transport were drawn up and approved; the movement oi troops had begun; and Mukden had actually been evacuated; when suddenly everything was stopped by order of Admiral Alexeielf, the commander ot Kwang-tung, whose reasons for taking such action have not, to this day, been sufficiently cleared up. It is definitely known, however, that the change in policy which slopped the withdrawal or troops from Southern Manchuria corresponded in time with the first visit to the East ot"State Councillor Bezobrazoff."

Thd- motive actuating Bezobrazoff is obvious—the withdrawal of the Russian troops from Manchuria would have crippled his enterprise and deprived him of valuable agents for promoting the exploitation of the timber concession. General Kuropatkin proceeds:—

"Mukden, which we bad already evacuated, was reoecupied, as was also the city of Yinkow (Ncwehwang). The Yalu timber enterprise assumed more importance than ever, and, in order to give support to it, and to our other undertakings in northern Korea.' Ad-

miral Alexeiell", commander of Kwung-1 tung, sent a force of cavalry, with field ! guns, to Feng-wang-cheng. Thus, in-1 stead of completing the evacuation of | Southern Manchuria, we moved into j parts ol it that we had never before | occupied. At the same time we allowed operations in connection with the Kore-, an timber enterprise to go on, despite the fact that the promoters of this enterprise, contrary to instructions from St. Petersburg, were striving to give it a political and military character. "One incredible scheme of Bezobrazoff followed another: and in the summer of IMI3 there was submitted lome for examination ;i project of his which provided for the immediate concentration in Southern Manchuria of an army of 7D,ODD men. His «im was to utilise the timber company as a means of creating a sort of 'screen,' or barrier against a possible attack upon us by the Japanese.

These measures were particularly serious and injurious to us, for the reason that they were taken at the very time when we were under obligations to evacuate the province of Mukden altogether. •The Ministers ot Finance, Foreign Affairs, and War (White, Lainsdoiil' and Kuropatkin) all recognised the dangvr that would threaten us if we continued to defer fulfilment of our promise to evacuate Manchuria, anil, more especially, if w<_> failed to put an end to lle/.0-brazolV's brazolV's activity in Korea. These tluve Ministers, therefore, procured the a,i-

pouitmcut of a special council, which assembled in St. Petersburg on April sth. 1903, anil took into consideration certain propositions which Bezobrazoll' had made to its members separately in writing. These propositions had for their object the strengthening of Kussia's"3tTnfccgiu position in the basin of the Yalu. All three of the Ministers

ibove designated expressed themselves irmly and definitely in opposition to iezobrazolf's proposals, ami all agreed ,hut if his 'enterprise oil tile Yalu were ,o be sustained it must lie upon a strictly comniL't'L'ia! basis, " It pleased liis Imperial Majesty to >av, after lie had listened to these exiressions o£ opinion, that war with japan was estremcly undesirable, and that we must endeavour to restore in Manchuria a state of tranquility. The .'ompany tornied for the purpose of exploiting the limber on the liiver Yalu must be a strictly commercial organisation, must admit foreigners who desired to participate, and must exclude all ranks of the army. I was then ordered to proceed to the l'ar Kast, tor the purpose of acquainting myself, on. th: l ground, with our needs, and ascertaining what the state of mind was in Japan, lu the latter country, where 1 met with the miht cordial and kind-hearted reception. I became convinced that the (iuverniiicnt ilesired to avoid a rupture Willi Russia, Hilt that it would-be necessary for us 10 act in a perfectly dclinite way in Manchuria, ami to refrain from interference in the a Hairs of Korea, If we .should go on with the adventure of Bezobrazotl' and Co. we should be threatened with conflict. These conclusions I telegraphed to St. Petersburg. After niv departure from that city, however, iiie danger 01 a rupture w'ith Japan, oil account of Korea, had increased considerably— especially when, on Jlay 71ii, 11I0U (May Mil, VS.), the Minister o/ Finance announced that ' after having mi explanation /rou> State Councillor HuzobrazotV, he (tlie Minister) was not iu disagreement with him, so far an the essence of the matter was concerned.' "In the council that was held at Port Arthur, when I arrived there, Admiral Alexeielt. Lessar (Russian -Minister iu China), i'avloff (llussian .Minister in Korea), and I cordially agreed that the Yalu enterprise should liave a purely commercial character. In view of the Repeated assurances given me by Admiral Ale.veielY that he was whully opposed to JlezobrazolV's schemes I left Port Arthur I'm- St. I'cteivburg."

General Kuropatkin was misled by Admiral Alexcietf, who, whilst outwardly assenting to the necessity for cvacua - jug Manchuria, ivas secretly lending an car to Bezobrazoll', whose promise li: "put ltianv tilings into his hands" was filled bv gelling him appointed as Vic"rov of'the Kar East, liczobrazoff an 1

liis coadjutors maintained their danger oiis tactics all throiijsh the .summer of )<«):]—in spile "f U»' public ruling of the C/.iii'--;in(l were able to keep Hi' j armed tovcv- (if Russia, to which .luju'ii violently objected, in Korea. The members o'c" tin- timber company—many of tliem llussiiin ai'i».V ofliccrs—were lireeaters. In a report to t lie Czar 011 .I,llll' 2-ltU lii'iieval Kuropatkiu says: '■ Actiiii.'; St#to Councillor iioleslie!!' lias a disposition quite as warlike as that of Hezohra/.olT. If Admiral Alexeiel]' hild not succeoilert in mfcrceptin" a ileit'll from Holcshcll' with regard to •i-aU-lii«K all the .l«panc-c.' ' pmiisliiii« tliem publicly,' anil ' taking action with vollevs,' there would have been .' bloody episode upon the Vain by this time. In September, {o.s.), the state of a 11' airs in tlie Far Kast bcfian to be alarming, and Admiral Alexiell was delinitclv ordered to lake alt neces.sa;'\ ! ) measures to avoid war. then. too, our 1 position was nii'ile. worse by t lie form that Admiral AlcxeielT fjave to the IU-; >- tiations en trusted to him. Kcfcreiiccs were made that olTended Japanese pride, I and -the whole correspondeiice became 1 j strained and difficult as a result of the "Kfmiral's unfamiliarity with diplomatic

procedure umMiis Jack of romjii'tont | stall iissisln 111s. ||«> prorci'di'd, morej uvcr, upon tin- mistaken | tliiit', jji siK'h a negotiation, it was neeossuy to display inilexibilily and tenacitv."

Vain was the opposition of Ku»o* patkin to the course that wa» being adopted, and after he had resigned anil Count Witte had been removed, the whole government of the L-ar East was turned over to ollicials in sympathy with Bezobrazoir and his aims. Russia plunged down the slippery slope of nalional peril, and in February, IW)4, she entered on a war for which, according to (leneral liuropatkin, she was totally unprepared, and on behalf of interests that were wholly mercenary. j